Electrically-controlled railway-switch.



No. 787,827. PATENTED APR. 18, 1905. R. V. GHEATHAM.

ELECTRIGALLY CONTROLLED RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 787,827. PATENIBD APR. 18.1905. R. V. CHEATHAM.

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented April 18, 1905.

lUNiTi-in STATES ATENT Finca.

`tOBERT V. CIIEAIIIAM, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIh-NOR TO CIIEAT- IIe-IM ELECTRIC SWITCIIING DEVICE COMPANY, OE LOUISVILLE, KEN- TUCKY, A CORPORATION OF KENTUCKY.

ELECTRlCALLY-CONTROLLED RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,827, dated April 18, 1905.

Application fiiedAngust 9, 1904. Serial No. 220,137.

Bc it known that I, Ronin-rr V. Cun-Vianen, a citizen of the United States, residingI at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvtmients in Electrically -Controlled Railway-Switches. of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to electrically-controlled railway-switches, the same being designed as an improvement upon the devices described and claimed in United States Pati ents Nos. 612,702 and 696,313, granted to me, respectively, October I8, 1898, and March i902.

The object of th is invention is to simplify and otherwise improve the details of construction of the apparatus shown in the patents referred to, so as to render the same cheaper in construction and more efficient in operation.

Primarily the'improvements relate to the circuit-changing and switch-tongue-throwing mechanisms.

The invention Yfurther aims to construct an electrically-controlled railway-switch-throwing mechanism which shall be comparatively simple in construction and arrangement, ellicient in its use, strong, durable, and comparatively inexpensive to set up.

With the Vforegoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described, illustrated in the accomparrving drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In describing the invention in detail reference is had to the accompanying drawings, whe rein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which Figure l is a diagrammatic view illustrative of the invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the circuit-changing mechanism; and Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of the switch-n)ligue-throwing mechanism.

Referring to the drawing's by reference characters, I denotes the trolley-wire, which has a contact-block Zsecured thereto at points in advance of the railway-switch. The contactblock 2 is provided with contact-strips 3 i, ar- 50 ranged in parallel relation on the under side thereof and designed to be engaged by the trolley-wheel 5, carried by car. .In connection with each contact-block 2 employed a circuit breaking and closing mechanism 6 and a 55 switch-tongue-throwing mechanism 7 are ernployed. The circuit breaking and closing mechanism and the switcli-tongue-throwing mechanism will be hereinafter referred to; but it will now be stated that the switchi tongue-throwingmechanisin involvesadoublesolenoid magnet whose core is connected with the switch-tongue 9" for operating the same in one direction or the other. The contactblock 2, the circuit breaking and closing mechanism 6, and the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism 7, are electrically connected in such manner so that when the trolley-wheel 5, carried by the car, moves in contact with the contact-strips 3 -L the wheel will act to bridge 7o the circuit between the said strips, and the flow of the current will be caused to pass lfrom the trolley-wire through the circuit breaking and closing mechanism 6 and thence to one or the other of the coils of the double solenoids of the switchtonguethrowing mechanism T, so as to move the core or armature of said solenoid and turn the switch-tongue 9" in one direction or the other.

The electrical connections between the cir- 8o cuit breaking and closing mechanism 6, the contact-block 2, and the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism T will be hereinafter more fully referred to, as well as the travel of the circuits through the circuit breakiiig and closing mechanism to the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism.

The contact-block l is of the same construction as that shown in Patent No. (396,21 13, hereinbefore referred to, and as no claim is made therefor it is thought unnecessary to specifically (,leserihe the said contact-block Q.

The circuit breaking and closing mechanism 6 is preferably supported upon a pole on one side of the street adjacent to the contactblock 2 and is arranged within a suitable casing 9, which may be constructed of any suitable material and of any suitable shape, but preferably rectangular in contour.

The circuit breaking and closing mechanism 6 comprises a magnet 10, preferably in the form of a solenoid, and also a magnet 11, preferably in the form of a solenoid, and the said solenoids 10 and 11 are supported upon a shelf 12, fixedly secured within the casing 9. The solenoid 11 has its windings coarser than the windings of thesolenoid 10. Consequently said solenoid 11 is of a lower resistance than the solenoid 10. The solenoid 10 is employed in connection with and is adapted to break whatistermed the main switchthrowing' circuit and the solenoid 11 employed in connection with and is adapted to close what is termed the auxiliary switchthrowing circuit. The solenoid 10 is provided with a copper tube 13, which is nonmagnetic, and vertically movable within said tube 13 is a solenoid-core 14, which is connected with or engages a vertically-movable shifting rod 15. Within the tube 13 is placed a body of mercury 18, the function of which will be hereinafter referred to. The core of the solenoid 11 is indicated by the reference character 19 and has connected thereto an upwardly-extending bar of liber or other suitable material 20, and said bar of fiber 2O has attached to its Lipper end a link 21, the function of which will be hereinafter referred to. rlhe shelf 12 immediately below the cores 14 and 19 is provided with recesses 22 to permit of a greater downward movement to said cores than if the recesses were not provided, the said recesses enabling a portion of the cores 14 and 19 to pass entirely through the solenoids. Within the casing 9, near the top thereof, is arranged a pivot-pin 22, and upon said pin 22*1 is mounted one end of a lever 23 for breaking the main switchthrowing circuit, and said leverl 23 is provided at its pivoted end with a downwardlydepending nose 24 and at its free end is provided with an opening 25 to provide for the passage of the shifting-rod 15. Arranged below the pivot-pin 2221 is an additional pivotpin 25, upon which is mounted one end of the lever 26, which is adapted to close both the main and auxiliary switch-throwing circuits-that is to say, the lever 26 is so arranged with such respect to the lever 23 that lwhen in contact with the nose 24 of the lever 23 the main switch-throwing circuit will be closed and when in contact with the contact-pin 27 the auxiliary switch-throwing circuit will be closed and the main switch-throwing circuit broken, as when said lever 26 contacts with the contact-pin 27 it is out of contact with the nose 24 of the lever 23. The lever 26 at its pivoted end is provided with a pair of protuberances 28 29, the protuberance 23 having the upper end of the link 21 attached thereto and the protuberance 29 carrying an adjustable weight 30, the function of which will be hereinafter referred to.

The solenoid 10 is always in series with a ground-solenoid, to be hereinafter referred to, of the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism, said ground-solenoid just referred to being in what is termed the main switch-throwing circuit. Said circuit the solenoid 10 is adapted to break when occasion requires. The solenoid 10 is only energized when the trolleywheel connects the contact-strips 3 and 4 without a car taking power. The energizing of the solenoid 10 causes the core 14 to rise slowly through the column of mercury 13. This upward movement raises the weight 16, and should solenoid 10be energized for a suflcient length of time the weight 16 and lever 23 will be raised high enough to release a lever 26, which breaks the main switch throwing circuit through the solenoid 10. Vhen this circuit is broken, the core 14 sinks in the mercury by gravity to its original position through the medium of a weight 16. The latter and lever 23 are lifted high enough to release lever 26 only when the car is brought to a standstill with the trolley-wheel connecting strips 3 and 4. The ordinary passing of the trolleywheel does not energize the solenoid 10 suficiently long for the core 14 to be raised more than one-quarter of the distance required to release the lever 26. Wrhen the trolley-wheel passes through the trolley-bracket and isat the same time taking power, the solenoid 11 is energized and the lever 26 is thrown over against contact-point 27, thereby throwing the current into another solenoid, to be hereinafter referred to, of the switch-tonguethrowing mechanism and forms by such an operation what is termed the auxiliary switch-tongue-throwing circuit. 30 is adapted to return the core 19 of the solenoid 11 to its normal position, as well as having a tendency to keep the levell 26 in contact with the nose 24 of the lever 23. The lever 23 carries a binding-post 31 for a wire 32, which leads from said binding-post 31 to the solenoid 10.

The reference character 33 denotes a binding-post which is mounted upon the lever 26 and which receives one end of the leading-in wire 34, while the opposite end of said leading-in wire 34 is connected with the contactstrip 4.

The reference-characters 35 and 36 denote a pair of leading-in wires for the solenoid 11, and the wire 35 is connected with the contactstrip 3, and the wire 36 is connected with the trolley-wire 1. The solenoid 10 is connected with one of the solenoids of the switch-tonguethrowing mechanism 7 through the medium of the wire 37, and the other solenoid of the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism 7 is connected with the contact-pin 27 through the medium of the wire 33. The main switchtongue-throwing circuit comprises the leading-in wire 34, the lever 26, lever 23, wire 32,

IIC

and wire 3T, and the auxiliary switch-tonguethrowing circuit comprises the wire 3-1, lever 2.15, contact-pin 27 and wire 3S.

The switch-tongue-throwing mechanism is substantially the same as that shown in the Patent No. 696,313, with the exception that a bowed spring 39 is employed in lieu of the spring H of said patent and that the packing 53 and collar of said Patent No. 639,313 is dispensed with and in lieu thereof a gasket -LO and brass nut 41 are employed. The double solenoid of the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism is indicated by the reference characters Q lf3, and the core common to the said solenoids is indicated by the reference character 11. The solenoid -LQ is connected with the wire 3T, and the solenoid -13 is connected with the wire It has been found that the bowshaped or expansible spring 39 obtains a more satisfactory working than a straight coiled spring and that the employment of the gasket il) and brass nut 1 insures a more satisfactory working than using' a rubber packingring 53 and the metallic cap 55, as set forth in Patent No. 696,313.

As to the manner of the operation of that portion of the circuit breaking and closing mechanism which involves the solenoid having the copper tube and the mercury it will be stated that the current must pass through the solenoid on its way to the grournl-solenoid which operates the switch for the main track. The current passes through the solenoid 1l) only when the car passes through the trolley-pan without any power on the car. When the ear passes through the trolleybracket without any power, the solenoid 10 is energized and the core therein begins to rise; but the car passes through the trolley-bracket so quickly that the core does not rise high enough to lift the nose 21 to release the lever lf it were not for the mercury in the copper tube 13, the core would lift the lever 23 instantly or, rather, move the nose '21 out of the path of the lever Q6; but as it is the mercury must work its way past the core 14;, which retards the upward movement of the core 11, so that the car has time to pass through the trolley-bracket before the nose Z-L is raised high enough to release lever 26. After the car has passed through the trolleybracket the core M, through the intervention of the weight 16, sinks again in the mercury to its normal position at the bottom of the copper tube, and the nose 9st. of the lever 23 also drops back to its normal position. Should the car stop with the trolley-wheel in the trolley-lu'acket and stand there for the space of four or five seconds, the core 14 will have time to rise high enough through the mercury to release the nose 24: from the lever 26. This would automatically cut the current off from the solenoid 10, and consequently the corresponding ground -solenoid or, rather, solenoid 13. Lever 2G is reset by the car starting again, for in starting the car the solenoid 11 opposite the solenoid 10 is energized sufficiently to throw lever 26 in position. rhen the car passes through the trolley-bracket. and is at the same time taking power, lever 26 is thrown over against contact-pin 2T, thereby throwingl the current into the opposite ground-soleuoid 1Q.

rlhe operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: lVhen it is desired to run the car along' the main track, it is merely necessary for the motorman to cut off his motor when passing' contact-block 2 and allow the momentum of the car to carry the same past said contact-block. Assuming the carto be approaching the switch,it will be observed that when the trolley-wheel 5 reaches the contact-block 2 the saine will pass from the trolley-wire 1` due to the fact that said trolley-wire is deflected upwardly. The flanges of said trolley-wheel will therefore be brought into contact with the contact-strips 3 and et, bridging` thecircuit between the same. The current will then flow Yfrom the trolley-wire 1, through wire 3G, solenoid 11, and wire 35, to contact-strip 3, thence through trolley-wheel 5 to contactstrip 4, thence through wire 31 to lever 26, thence through lever '.23 and wire 32 to solenoid 10, thence over wire 3T to solenoid 13, which energizes said solenoid a3 and will draw the core 4A outwardly and move the switch-tongue 8 to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. lt may be well to state that the current 'from trolley-wire 1 passing over wire 36 to solenoid 11 and then back to contact-strip 3 over wire 35 is too small to energize solenoid 11. Of courseif theswitehtongue 9a were already in the position Ijust referred to there would be no action on the part of the solenoid 13 on the core ai, and consequently no movement of the switchtongue 9" would be effected. ln other words, said switch-tongue 9 would remain in the same position that it was in before. Assuming' it to be turned to this position, however, it is held in place through the action of the spring 39 and crank-arm 3*. L of a lever 39, as switch-tongue 9L is connected to the core i through the medium of the laterally-extending arm 39", link 39d, lever 39", and link 39. Yln view of the manner in which thc switch-tongue 9:l has now been set or retained in position it is evident that as the car ap- IOO preaches the switch it will pass along the IZO the trolley-wheel 5 down through the motor of the car and thence to ground. A heavy current is therefore drawn from the wire 1, which, passing' through the solenoid 11, energizes the same sufficiently to raise core 19, thereby throwing the lever 26 ag'ainst the contact-pin 27, and when the trolley-wheel reaches the fore end of the contact-strip 4 a portion ofl the current drawn from the trolley-wire 1 is shunted from the contact-strip 3 through the trolley-wheel 5 to the contactstrip 4 and thence through wire 34, lever 26, contact-pin 27, wire 38 to solenoid 42. l/Vith the flow of current through the solenoid 42 the same is energized and acts to withdraw the core 44 from the position it formerly occupied-that is, the same is drawn inwardly and swings the lever 39h on its pivot, so as to move the switchtongue 9L from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings to the position necessary to cause the car to travel from the main to the branch track. Said switchtongue is held in this position after the solenoid 42 is denergized by the action of the spring 39 on the crank 39a of the lever 39h. It will thus be seen that the operation of' the device is automatic throughout. It is not necessary that the motorman or operator of the car know what the position of the switch is; but it is only necessary when it is desired to continue traveling along the main track to cut off the current to the car-motor when. approaching the contact-block 2 and when it is desired to move from the main to the branch track to merely leave on the current to the car-motor when approaching the contactblock 2. When the solenoid lO is energized, the mercury in the tube 13 retards the movement of the core 14 in such a manner as to prevent the disengagement of the nose of the lever 23 with the lever 26 in the manner as before stated, and as the passage of the trolley through the trolley-bracket is uninterrupted the energizing of the solenoid 10 is not ofl very long` duration, for the reason that as soon as the trolley-wheel reaches the trolley-bracket the solenoid 10 becomes denergized and the core resumes its normal position by gravity. This is evident owing to the employment of the weight 16.

The solenoids 42 and 43 and the switchtongue-throwing mechanism have been shown as grounded through the means of the wires indicated by the reference characters 45 46. It is obvious that such solenoids may be grounded in any other suitable manner.

In regard to the adjustable weight 30, carried by the protuberance 39, it will be stated that said weight is removed in warm weather when the heaters are turned off the cars. l/Vhen it is removed, it requires less current to energize the solenoid 11,which operates lever 26, so that in warm weather, when the weight 30 is dispensed with, the cars can operate lever 26 on the first contact-point of their controller; but with the weight 30 attached to lever 26 the same cannot be operated unless the controller or rheostat is turned as far as the second or third point or to a point where the car would take more power than the heaters and the switch-solenoids combined.

The mercury 18 in the solenoid 10 is what may be termed a retarding device for the core of' said solenoid to prevent the breaking of' the main switch-throwihg circuit. The employment of the mercury is shown to illustrate one f'orm of a means to arrest the vertical movement of the core of the solenoid 10; but it is evident any other suitable means for this purpose can be employed, the mercury being shown simply as one example for retarding the vertical movement in one direction of the core of the solenoid 10.

It is thought the many advantages of the electrically controlled railway switch constructed in accordance with the foregoing description can be readily understood, and it will furthermore be stated that changes,variations, and modifications can be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of` its advantages, and I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to the details of construction as shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the specification forming a part of this application, but reserve the right to make such changes, variations, and modifications as come properly within the scope of the protection prayed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is"

1. An electrically-controlledrailway-switch comprising means for automatically closing a main switch -tongue-throwing circuit when power is shut off from the car and for breaking said circuit when the trolley carried by the car has its travel momentarily arrested in the trolley-bracket, and means for automatically closing an auxiliary switch-tongue-throwing circuit when power is supplied to the car.

2. An electrically-controlled railway-switch comprising means for automatically closing a main switch-tongue-throwing circuit when power is shut off from the car and for breaking said circuit when the travel of the trolley is momentarily arrested in the trolley-bracket, said means provided with a retarder to prevent breaking of the said circuit during the uninterrupted travel of the trolley through the trolley-bracket when power has been shut off from the car, and means for automatically closing an auxiliary switch-tongue-throwing circuit during the supply of power to the car.

3. An electrically-controlled railway-switch involving a switch-tongue-throwing mechanism comprising a pair of solenoids, a core common to both solenoids and connected with and adapted to shift the switch-tongue when either of said solenoids are energized, and a bow-shaped spring connected with said core and adapted to i'etain the switch-tongue in its shifted position when the solenoids ai'e deenergized.

t. An electrically-conti'olled railway-switch involvingl a circuit-changing mechanism. said mechanismcomprisingapair ot solenoids, one of which is pi'ovided with a retarder. a pair of levers adapted to contact with cach otliei' when one ot' said solenoids deenergized and to be moved out ot' engagement with each othei' when the othei' of said solenoids is energized, and a contact-pin coipei'ating with one ot' said levers.

An electrically-controlled i'ailway-switch involving a circuit-changing mechanism. said mechanism comprising a pair ot' solenoids, one ot' which is pi'ovided with a retarder, a pair ot levers adapted to contact with each other when one of said solenoids is deenergized and to he moved out of engagement with each other when the othei' ot' said solenoids is energized. and a contact-pin cooperating with one ot' said levei's, combined with a switchtongue-thi'owing mechanism. a source ot' electrical energy, and suitable electrical connections between said source, levei', contact-pin,

solenoids and switch-tongue-thi'owing mechi anis-m.

i3. \n electrically-ctmtrolled railway-switch involving a circuit-changing mechanism intei'- l posed between a soui'ce ot' electrical ei'iergy and a switch-tongue thi'owing mechanism,said ci rcu it-cliauging mechanism comprising a pair ot' solenoids provided with movable cores, means carried by one of the solenoids for retai'ding the movement ot' its coi'e, a pair ot' circuit making and breaking levers connected with said cores, a contact-pin cooperating with one of said levers, suitable electrical conne tions between the source ot' electrical energy and one ot' said levers, suitable electrical conism for closing main and auxiliary switchnections between the source ot' electrical energy and one. otsaid solenoids, and suit-able electrical connections between said contactpin. the other ot said solenoids, and said switchlongue-throwing mechanism.

T. A\.n electrically-cointrolled railway-switch involving a ciremt-changing mechanism intei'- l when the solenoid is energized, and means carried by the core ot' the other ot' said solenoids for returningthe other levei' to its noi'- iual position after one of the levers has been operated.

n. An electricallv-controlled i'ailway-switch said circuit-changing mechanism comprising a pair ot' solenoids, a movable core foreach ot' said solcnoids, a pair of circuit breaking' and making' levers adapted to contact with each other, means carried by the coi'e of one of said solenoids for operating one ot' said levers when the solenoid is energized, means cai'- ried by the coi'e ot' the other ot' said solenoids for returning the other lever to its normal position at'ter one ot' the levers has been operated, and a contact-pin adapted to be engaged by the lever which has been operated by the coi'e otl the energized solenoid.

3. An electi'ically-contiolled railway-switch involving' a circuit-changing mechanism interposed between the sour-ce ot' electrical energy and the switch-tongue-thi'owing mechanism, said circuit-changing mechanism coinpi'ising a pair ot' solenoids, a movable core for each otl said solenoids, a pair of circuit breaking and making levers adapted to contact with each othci', means cai'i'icd by the coi'e ot' one ot' said solcnoids for operating one of said ievei's when thc solenoid is'energized, means cai'i'ied by the coi'e ot' the other ot' said solenoids tor returningl the other levei' to its noi'- mal position after one ot' the. levers has been operated, and a contact-piu adapted to be engaged by the lever which has heen operated by the core ot' the energized solenoid, combined with electrical connections between the soui'ce ot' electrical energy and one ol said levers and one of said solenoids, electrical connections between the other of said levers and the other of said solenoids, electrical connections between said contact-pin and theswitchtonguc-throwing mechanism, and electrical connections between one otl the solenoids and the switch-tongue-throwing mechanism.

l0. An elccti'ically controlled railwayswitch involving a circuit-changing` mechantongue-throwing circuits. said mechanism comprising a pair ot' solenoids. one for the main and the othei' for the auxiliary switchtongue-throwing circuit. means t`oi' enei'gizing said solenoids when closing their respective circuits, and a retarder carried by the solenoid in the main circuit to prevent the breaking oll the main circuit when the solenoid ot' the main circuit is momentai'ily energizcd.

ll. An electi'ieally-controllcd railwayswitch involving a circuit-changing mechanism t'or closing main and auxiliary switchtongue -throwing circuits, -said mechanism comprising a solenoid in the main circuit, a

solenoid in the auxiliary circuit, a movable coi'e t'oi' each ot' said solenoids, contact means involvingacircuit-changingmechanisminteroperated by the core ol the solenoid in the auxiliary circuit when the said solenoid is energized thereby opening the main circuit and closing the auxiliary circuit, and means ai'- ranged within the solenoid inthe main circuit for retarding` the movement ol its core [VIS ISO

when said solenoid is energized, thereby preventing the breaking of the main circuit.

1Q. An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a circuit-changing mechanism for closing main and auxiliary switchtongue throwing circuits, said mechanism comprising a solenoid in the main circuit, a solenoid in the auxiliary circuit, a movable core for each of said solenoids, a lever connected with and actuated by the movable core of the solenoid in the auxiliary circuit when the solenoid is energized, a lever adapted to contact with the first-mentioned lever for closing the main circuit, means arranged in the solenoid in the main circ-uit for retarding the movement of the core thereof to prevent the disengagement of said levers and the opening of the main circuit when the solenoid in the main circuit is energized, and a contactpin adapted to be engaged by the lever connected with the core of the solenoid in the auxiliary circuit when said solenoid is energized.

18.v An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a circuit-changing mechanism for closing main and auxiliary switchtongue -throwing circuits, said mechanism comprising a solenoid in the main circuit, a solenoid in the auxiliary circuit, a movable core for each of said solenoids, a weighted lever -connected with and actuated by the movable core of the solenoid in the auxiliary circuit when the solenoid is energized, a lever adapted to contact with the first-mentioned lever for closing the main circuit, means arranged in the solenoid in the main circuit for retarding the movement of the core thereof to prevent the disengagement of said levers and the opening of the main circuit when the solenoid in the main circuit is energized, and a contact-pin adapted to be engaged by the lever connected with the core of the solenoid in the auxiliary circuit when said solenoid is energized.

14. An electrically controlled railwayswitch comprising a double solenoid, a core common to both solenoids, suitable connections between said core and the switch-tongue, a solenoid, a movable core therefor, a lever connected to said core, suitable connections between said solenoid and the source of electrical energy, suitable connections between said lever and source of electrical energy, a solenoid, a movable core therefor, a retarder in said last-mentioned solenoid for the core thereof, a contact-pin, suitable electrical connections between said contact-pin and lsaid double solenoid, a lever having a nose adapted to contact with said first-mentioned lever, and suitable electrical connections between said lever provided with a nose and said solenoid provided with a retarder.

15. An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a switch-tongue-throwing mechanism, said mechanism comprising means connected with the switch-tongue for shifting it, a gasket for forminga seal, abrass nut for securing said gasket in position, and a bowshaped spring for retaining the switch-tongue in shifted position.

16. An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a switch-tongue-throwing mechanism, said mechanismcomprising means connected withthe switch-tongue for shifting it`v a gasket for forming a seal, a nut for securing said gasket in position, and a bowshaped spring for retaining the switch-tongue in shifted position.

17. An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a switch-tongue-throwing mechanism, said mechanism comprising a pair of solenoids suitably connected with an electrical source, a movable core common to both solenoids and connected with the switch-tongue for shifting it when the solenoids are energized, a gasket surrounding the solenoid, and adapted to form a sealing means, a brass nut for securing said gasket in position, and a bow-shaped spring for retaining the switchtongue in its shifted position.

18. An electrically controlled railwayswitch involving a switch-tongue-throwing mechanism, said mechanism comprising a pair of solenoids suitably connected with an electrical source, a movable core common to both solenoids and connected with the switch-tongue for shifting it when the solenoids are energized, a gasket surrounding the solenoid and adapted to form a sealing means, a nut for securing said gasket in position, and a bowshaped spring for retaining the switch-tongue in its shifted position.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT V. CHEATHAM. lVitnesses:

F. L. J. RiooTT, R. H. YA'rEs. 

